Praise for Wasps as Master Pollinators

by Candy Bartol

Which insect may be the most underrated and generally misunderstood by uninformed people, you ask? This actually essential and ancient pollinator gets a bad reputation because of its powerful sting.

How ancient are wasps? Mighty ancient, based on a recent Princeton University Press article by Simon van Noort and Gavin Broad, which actually claims that wasps have been floating around for over 280 million years. According to Leslie Mentz, author of  Treasures in Gemstones: Previously Unknown Wasps Found in Prehistoric Amber, wasps have been found encased in amber dating back to the Cretaceous period.

Biologist, pollinator conservationist, and award-winning Minnesota author Heather Holm admits that wasps are misunderstood in the first lines of her 2021 book, Wasps: Their Biology, Diversity, and Role as Beneficial Insects and Pollinators of Native Plants, a weighty book both literally and, more importantly, in terms of its message about this important pollinator.  

After recognizing the contributions of women who preceded her in wasp research, Holm dedicates her book to them. She also intersperses quotes from these women in brown and occasionally green boxes to emphasize their findings. In her introduction she quickly establishes her belief that potential users of her content might be put off by a memory of a pesky nest or a memorable sting.

In my case, someone had to remove the wasp nest in my eaves, and I cautiously used a spray when another nest appeared outside a garbage bin made dangerous to open. There’s a sting history too that happened when a yellowjacket attacked during an outdoor lunch by Lake Minnetonka’s shore as the summer waned. The helpful waiter produced tobacco from a cigarette moistened with water to form a poultice designed to draw out that stinger, which actually worked. Based on a negative history involving wasps, it was time to delve into Holm’s compelling defense! 

With this winner of seven book awards, including the 2022 American Horticultural Society Book Award, I was well prepared to begin exploring. The wasp positives were soon pouring off the  pages accompanied by eye-popping, larger-than-life photos. As the Goodreads article of February 15, 2021 declares, “Wasps is the first full-color, illustrated guide featuring approximately 150 species of flower-visiting wasps that occur in eastern North America, and the specific native plants and habitat each species depends upon.” 

The introduction and the first five chapters provide basic wasp information suitable for all readers, even a novice like me. Holm stresses that wasps fall into two groups, solitary and social. The social wasp system has commonalities with bee colonies. She also asserts that wasps seldom sting because they are too busy raising their young, and they only resort to stinging if their families are threatened. She clarifies that bee and wasp stings are distinct from each other, so a person allergic to bees will likely not be bothered by wasp stings. In talking about the basic wasp homes, she brings up the fact that some wasps create their homes in the ground, so someone might accidentally step on one. She even introduces paper wasps and the amazing nests they create. Also covered are the stages wasps go through, starting with the larval stage.

 

Chapters 6 to 17 are much more specialized, with each chapter concentrating on a general type such as thread-waisted or cuckoo wasps, with specific examples highlighted in each chapter. The Goodreads article explains the format by asserting, “Written with an ecological lens, this richly-illustrated book details wasp diversity and has full-page profiles for each wasp species that include identification tips, geographic range maps, biology, prey, natural history and habitat.” With close-up photos and detailed information, each wasp species comes alive.

Chapter 18 details a planting guide for eastern North America and is followed by supplementary materials including a glossary, an extensive bibliography, photography credits, and an easy-to-use index. Holm, an accomplished photographer herself, is responsible for most of the photos, but gives credit to many others who supplied images.

Given the scope and depth of this wasp piece, you may also be interested in Holm’s two bee books to complement the upcoming Garden bee census results. You may even wish to consult her book featuring pollinators of native plants to get planting ideas for your garden. Find all her books at pollinatorsnativeplants.com.❖  

Candy Bartol is a member and director of the Friends.

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A Garden of Light: Fireflies at Eloise Butler

by Keygan S. S. McClellan

At dusk on June 20th, during the Summer Solstice celebration, visitors and naturalists gathered in the upland meadow, hoping for a show. We knew fireflies were in the Garden, but we didn’t know much else about them.

How abundant are they? How many kinds are there? My personal quest for the evening was to start getting answers.

Above: Common eastern firefly at night. Photo ©Radim Schreiber.

According to Firefly Atlas, there are 18 species of firefly in Minnesota. Some are diurnal and lanternless, using pheromones to find mates. However, many possess the bioluminescent lanterns which make them so famous and beloved. Each species has a particular pattern of flashes used in the courtship display: usually, the male flies and shows off his pattern, while the female perches in foliage, emitting flashes in response. These distinct flashing patterns were what I was watching for.

The sun disappeared behind the hillside, and the quilt of June prairie flowers (patches of false blue indigo, prairie rose, and foxglove beardtongue with many other scattered blooms) slowly lost its vibrancy, turning shadowy purple. I scanned the meadow’s gentle slopes, looking for any sign of light.

It started slow and inconspicuous in the south: a few tentative flickers of yellow green. As darkness collected between the trees, it was gradually filled with more and more sparkling lights. Flashes and flickers, blinks and glows, rising from or immersed within the vegetation. Eventually, the entire meadow and the trees around it brimmed with bioluminescent stars. My first question had been answered: fireflies were abundant! 

I diligently recorded as many of the flash patterns as I could, immediately recognizing one of them: the quick J-shaped swoop of the big dipper firefly, Photinus pyralis. Also called the common eastern firefly, this is, indeed, our most common species, a habitat generalist which can survive in urban areas.

Even more prevalent were several kinds of quick, repeated blinks which came in sets of two up to eight. Although I’m not certain which exact species were emitting the flashes, I’ve collected some possibilities. One of the more likely is the Cape Breton firefly, Photuris fairchildi, which emits 3 to6 rapid pulses at a time. This firefly species possesses a fascinating secret: its females mimic the flash patterns of other firefly species’ females. The males of those species sometimes approach her, expecting a female of their own species. However, the Photuris firefly female will instead attack and devour them. 

Other possible candidates for firefly species in the Garden include the northern ablaze flash-train firefly, Photinus ardens; the ignited firefly, Photinus ignitus; and the little gGray firefly, Photinus marginellus (all of which emit repeating single flashes). The murky flash-train firefly, Photinus obscurellus, could also be present: males emit 2 or3 flashes in sequence. To be certain about which species are here, fireflies would have to be collected and examined, but my rudimentary survey was able to offer some exciting possibilities. 

Before too long, our nighttime foray into the meadow came to an end. Though I couldn’t see the fireflies again this year, I now know that on warm summer nights, the Garden is full of stars. ❖

Keygan McClellan is naturalist at the Wildflower Garden. Her article appears courtesy of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.

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Minnesota's bees and butterflies are in trouble

by Lucas Rhodes

Minnesota's bees and butterflies are in trouble. Beekeepers lose upwards of 40% of their colonies each year--a rate unheard of just a few decades ago--and wild pollinators like monarchs and the endangered rusty patched bumble bee are disappearing.

To reverse these losses, Minnesota must eliminate a leading cause: harmful, unnecessary, and wasteful uses of neurotoxic neonicotinoid pesticides, or “neonics.” With neonics increasingly showing up in waters, wildlife, and even people's bodies, the time to act is now. 

 

Neonics are among the most ecologically disastrous pesticides since DDT and they are everywhere in Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has detected these neurotoxins in 94% of white-tailed deer all over the state as of 2021—a sharp increase from just two years earlier. 

 

Water quality surveys underscore the scale of contamination. A 2021 study looked at water samples from rivers, streams, lakes, groundwater, and treated wastewater and found at least one neonic in 86% of samples.  Widespread neonic contamination is an ecological disaster and presents serious threats to human health. Here are three of the key impacts of this needless contamination: 

• Neonics are wiping out bees and other key crop pollinators. They are toxic to bees in extraordinarily small amounts and, at even lower amounts, can impact bees’ immune system, navigation, memory, and other functions critical to their survival and reproduction. As neonic use exploded in the mid-2000s, honey bee colony losses similarly skyrocketed. Now, concern is even greater for Minnesota's 400-plus wild bee species. And a new study identifies widespread neonic use as the number one factor contributing to monarch losses in the Midwest from 1998-2014.
  
• Neurotoxic neonics threaten children’s health. A nationwide study found neonics in the bodies of 95% of 171 pregnant women tested, and other research shows that these neurotoxins easily pass to a developing fetus. Neonics are linked with a variety of developmental harms. Even studies conducted by the pesticide industry itself reveal troubling effects on the developing brain. And because they are neurotoxic, like lead or mercury, health experts have cautioned that there may be no safe level of exposure for the developing brains of children. 
 
• Neonics hollow out ecosystems. Because of their extreme toxicity, neonics wipe out the bugs and other creatures that so many species depend on for food—like birds, fish, and amphibians. These include migratory birds, game birds, and fish that prop up Minnesota’s multi-billion-dollar outdoor recreation industry. 

  

The good news is that the main sources of neonic contamination are unnecessary. The vast majority of contamination stems from neonic-coated crop seeds used on upwards of 14 million acres statewide—an area twice the size of Massachusetts—each year. These treated seeds are incredibly wasteful. Ninety-five percent or more of the neonics applied to crop seeds enter the soil, where they migrate easily to contaminate whole ecosystems.

  

Leading research shows that the most widespread uses of neonic-treated seeds do not benefit farmers economically. Nevertheless, use is widespread because of marketing and misinformation from the multi-billion-dollar corporations that profit from neonic overuse. Treated seed use not only causes vast contamination, but adds unnecessary input costs for farmers with already razor-thin profit margins.

  

Making matters worse, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture has maintained a loophole allowing treated seeds to escape regulations designed to protect people and the environment from pesticide harms. But a coalition of groups recently filed a legal petition demanding that MDA fill this loophole and address widespread contamination stemming from treated seed use. 

 

A second source of neonic contamination—especially in urban and suburban areas—are lawn and garden uses. Like seed treatments, these products are commonly unnecessary. And even where pests present a problem, there are effective and less harmful pest control options available. 

 

A future with plentiful pollinators, bountiful birds, clean waters, and healthy communities is possible! But we need to act now. It's time for Minnesota's leaders to tackle harmful and unnecessary pesticide uses statewide. And in the meantime, all Minnesotans can help by not using pesticides (especially neonics!) on their lawns, gardens, and other outdoor spaces.❖ 

Lucas Rhodes is a senior project attorney for Natural Resources Defense Council.

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The Brown-headed Cowbird: A Niche in Nature

by Howard Towle

Say the name Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) to a birder and you’re likely to get a scowl or look of disgust. The Brown-headed Cowbird is a species that occurs commonly in the garden during the summer season but is often overlooked.

Members of the blackbird family, males are aptly named, with a chocolate brown head contrasting with an overall black body. Female Brown-headed Cowbirds are often a source of confusion for newer birders, as they are a quite nondescript gray-brown overall. A helpful key to identifying them is their conical, straight-edge bill and just their overall uniform coloration. Both male and female cowbirds are often seen perched high on bare branches, not unlike a typical flycatcher. However, unlike flycatchers, they are not on the lookout for insect prey to grab. Cowbirds are primarily ground-feeding seed and arthropod eaters. So why do they spend time perched in the open, and why do they have such a bad reputation? 

Brown-headed Cowbirds are among a group of species known as brood parasites. Rather than building their own nests and raising their own young, brood parasites lay their eggs in the nests of other birds and allow these foster parents to raise their young. If you’ve ever observed a small bird, like a Chipping Sparrow, busily feeding insects to a much larger nondescript brownish begging bird, you’ve observed this phenomenon. Brown-headed Cowbirds have evolved several strategies that make them particularly effective at this behavior.

Below: A chipping sparrow feeding a cowbird chick. Photo - @Christophe Buidin.

Cowbirds are often seen perched on a bare branch keeping an eye out for nesting activity of a suitable host. The female cowbirds are quite adept at waiting until the parent host has left their nest unguarded and then quickly adding an egg to the clutch. One female cowbird can lay as many as forty eggs in a season. Their eggs have a relatively short incubation period and consequently often hatch before the host’s young. These newborn cowbird chicks will then destroy the host’s eggs by pecking holes in them or even pushing them out of the nest. If the host’s eggs have hatched, the larger cowbird can bully its way to grabbing the majority of the food brought by the parent. While such behavior may seem repulsive, we have to remember that these traits have been selected to make the Brown-headed Cowbird very successful at what they do. 

Several very interesting questions arise from the lifestyle of the cowbird and its host. Among the most interesting is how this behavior evolved in the first place. One of the leading theories is that Brown-headed Cowbirds evolved to follow bison herds as they roamed the prairies, taking advantage of the insects that were attracted to or stirred up as the bison grazed. Because bison herds constantly moved, the cowbirds could not simultaneously remain in one location to nest and stay with the bison herd. So they adapted by allowing other birds to take over parental responsibilities. Another intriguing question is why the host birds do not recognize the foreign egg or hatchling as an intruder. In fact, some species of birds do detect the alien in their midst. For example, some birds have been known to build a new nest on top of an existing one with a cowbird egg, even if it means abandoning their own eggs. They then proceed to start over with a new clutch of eggs. The record for this behavior was set by a particularly persistent Yellow Warbler that successively built six new nests on top of the original one. Hopefully, they were successful in the seventh try. 

On the other hand, many birds do not seem to recognize that they are incubating or feeding an intruder. This can have an impact on the breeding success of some species that are of concern. European colonization of North America has had an unfortunate consequence, as bison herds were decimated and forests were cleared, creating more edge habitat preferred by the cowbird. As a consequence, the balance between host and brood parasite has been altered in a way that favors the latter. In some cases, biologists have intervened by establishing active Brown-headed Cowbird trapping programs to try to protect especially vulnerable species, such as the endangered Kirtland Warbler that breeds in Michigan.

So what are we to think of the Brown-headed Cowbird? Is it the villain that it is so often portrayed as or just a part of nature that we should observe and appreciate? Will you give a sneer the next time you see a cowbird in the garden or marvel at its unique evolutionary strategy to survive? Last summer I found a large speckled egg in the nest of a House Finch that had taken residence in a hanging pot on my porch. Should I have left the egg or intervened? I’m not really sure myself!❖ 

 

Howard Towle has actively birded at Wirth Park for over 30 years, having seen more than 160 species in the park. He is a Garden volunteer and Friends supporter.

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Letter from the President

Dear Friends,

The mission of the Friends of the Wildflower Garden is to protect, preserve, and promote the interests of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary as a sanctuary for native flora and fauna of Minnesota, and to educate and inspire all people in relating to the natural world.

From our supporters who donate annually or as a one-time gift, these monies are invested until the Garden has projects which need funding. This fall the Friends will donate almost $100,000 for a new fence connecting the fence constructed several years ago to the Back Gate. This fence will create a new eastern boundary expanding the Garden to 18 acres. 

This summer the Friends contributed $3,000 for transporting 400 Minneapolis schoolchildren to the Garden to learn about and enjoy the natural world. The $10,000 second bee census was completed in September by the U of M, funded jointly by the Friends and MPRB.  

Below: Volunteer Brenda Kemmerick manning the entry kiosk in October. Photo Richard Sveum

Many others volunteer their time to the Garden by greeting visitors and answering their questions at the Front Gate Kiosk or in the Shelter. Melissa Hansen has worked hard to schedule 22 volunteer shifts per week. Besides these 41 volunteers, there are 14 Legacy Volunteers who manage invasive plants in the perimeter areas around the Garden which have been previously cleared of buckthorn and garlic mustard. This year there have been nine larger invasive pulls, and several pop-up events coordinated through social media involving Friends of the Invasive Plants Action Group (FIPAG) with 72 volunteers led by Jim Proctor.

Minnesota ranks third in the US for volunteering rates at 35.5%, just behind Utah (40.7%) and Wyoming (39.2%), as reported in the most recent 2021 US Census Bureau data. Independent Sector estimates the value of volunteer time in Minnesota at $36.31 per hour. If all the shifts were filled in the Shelter and Kiosk, that would be a contribution of $1,900 per week. In 2024, FIPAG contributed 540 hours to managing the area in Wirth Park around the Garden.

One Kiosk volunteer greeted two young women from Ethiopia, beautifully dressed in floral garb for their New Year, who “wanted to spend time with the flowers.” They were ecstatic that the meadow yellow composite flowers matched the colors of their outfits! Another encounter was a middle-aged woman who shared that when she was in college in Mankato, “this Garden was her sanctuary.” An hour later, a younger woman of color visited. When asked if she had been to the Garden, her answer was “I come every week, and this is my sanctuary.” Recently a grade school student came to the Garden with her binoculars and was thrilled to see warblers, which she correctly identified.

For many of the volunteers, their reward is the joy of the visitor interactions or the satisfaction of improving the understory of the surrounding woodlands.

On September 25, Heather Holm, biologist and pollinator conservationist, spoke at the Friends Annual Lecture on Oaks, Fire and Climate Change. Fifty-eight attended in person and another twenty-two by Zoom.

Let us all continue to be Supporters of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary. Jennifer Olson ❖

Archive of previous President's Letters.

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A Wonderful Season at the Garden!

from Garden Curator Susan Wilkins

It has been another busy season at the Wildflower Garden.  As I look back on 2024, I am delighted by all of the wonderful activity that has occurred at the Garden in terms of programs, volunteer participation, and projects. 

It has been another busy season at the Wildflower Garden.  As I look back on 2024, I am delighted by all of the wonderful activity that has occurred at the Garden in terms of programs, volunteer participation, and projects. 

We have tallied over 45,000 visitor engagements (welcomes, conversations, information sharing) between visitors and the education staff and volunteers working at the Kiosk, Visitor Shelter, and on the trails through September 29, 2024.  So far this season, 4,260 program participants have enjoyed a tour or program led by Garden staff as well. With one month to go, more visitor interactions and program participants will be added to the tally for the full season. 

The Wildflower Garden seasonal education staff of eleven have done a tremendous job of sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm for the natural world each day with people from a great diversity of backgrounds. Visitors from our community and from around the country and the world who visit the Garden have enriched experiences here thanks to their efforts. We are quite fortunate to be able to recruit talented and welcoming seasonal education staff each year who bring out the best of the education program at the Garden. 

Wildflower Garden seasonal field staff have continued the legacy of care and tending to the Garden’s soon to be 18+-acre native plant collection with great intelligence and effort. Significant projects this season have enhanced the Garden’s plant collection, including the addition of over 3,000 plants.  The Garden’s dedicated and talented field staff ensure that the biodiversity and beauty of the Garden are nurtured and enhanced. 

The Garden’s 200+ volunteers are essential to the operations and the spirit of the Garden. Docent volunteers, Friends Invasive Plan Action Group volunteers, Legacy Volunteers, Corporate Volunteers, and The Friends Board all provide a variety of critical support to the Garden and the public visiting the Garden. 

Two projects identified in the 2019 Wildflower Garden Improvements Plans have been completed or are underway in the Garden including:   

• The construction of two new utility buildings for field-based equipment and tool storage. The buildings include outdoor areas for plant storage as well.
• The installation of a new 8’ chain-link fence along the eastern boundary of the Garden is scheduled to be completed late this autumn. The construction costs of this project are being fully funded through a generous donation by the Friends of the Wildflower Garden. 

Below: The two new storage sheds, constructed over the summer. Photo G D Bebeau

Additional projects worked on this season include: 

• Field work wrapped up in September for the 2023-24 bee census. This census is being completed by Dr. Elaine Evans and her team from the U of MN. The Friends of the Wildflower Garden and MPRB are sharing the cost of this project. Results from the census are expected to be available in early 2025.
• A new logo has been developed for the Garden.
• The Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden Florilegium project is wrapping up at the end of 2024, with a total of over 100 botanical art illustrations now a part of the permanent collection. A final group of illustrations will be reviewed and many accessioned to complete the project in early 2025. 
• The on-going partnership with the Loppet Foundation continues with a focus on providing nature- focused programming led by EBWG staff at the trailhead and surrounds each winter. These efforts started last winter and over 1,250 people enjoyed full-length and pop-up programming at the Trailhead as a result.
• A new certified, year-round education position has been funded with support from the Loppet Foundation. This position will be responsible for coordinating and leading year-round nature-focused education programming in the Garden (during the Garden season) and in Wirth Park in the winter months in collaboration with the Loppet Foundation.

Thank you for another wonderful season of learning about and loving nature at the Wildflower Garden. Wishing you all a nourishing winter season ahead.❖

Read Susan's previous letters here.

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Notes For and About Our Donors and Volunteers

Annual financial Support: July - October 2024

All 2024 Annual Support

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Other Donations and Memorials Received

Memorials/In-honor-of Received
July - October 2024

for Phil Anderson from Martha Malan
for Bennett L. Busselmann from Nancy & Gary Busselmann
for Marjorie Hauge from Jennifer Olson
for Helen Wright King from Susan Kornhaber
for Natalie Titrington Quinn from John & Carol Quinn

 

Other Donations Received - separate or an addition to annual support giving
July - October 2024 from

All 2024 donations and memorials

To make a donation go to our 'Donate & Support' page.

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Other means of Support

Want to honor someone?

A gift in their honor can simply be a means of honoring a living person or some group

or

use this as an alternate type gift for a holiday, a birthday, an anniversary, etc. We will notify them of your gift and of how they will receive our newsletter and other communications for the year ahead. This will introduce them to the Friends and to the Garden. Use the mail-in form or the credit card link on our website 'Donate & Support' page.

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Board of directors positions

The Friends Board of Directors can use your talents! We are an all-volunteer board that meets several time per year and if you have an interest in the Wildflower Garden and in helping support it and our mission of educating the public about the Garden and the natural world get more details by sending an email to to our president at this address.

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You can also support our program by buying a plant identification book.

Do you have our Plant Identification Guide? The 3rd edition has 1,950 photos of the 787 flowering plants, trees and the ferns of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden including many that are of historic interest. Four hundred of these books have been sold, so why not get yours!

From a buyer in New Hampshire: What a terrific collection of photos. I’m sure this guide will be a great compliment to other guides I have. From Minnesota: I love the book and will cherish it for many years to come. Credit card order or use the mail order form, both on our website here.

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Sign up for Twigs & Branches: A monthly email update from the Friends containing news from the Garden and relevant MPRB projects, as well as access to website content featuring short articles from our Board and membership. These articles are written to highlight connections of the plants, history and lore of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden with different time frames or outside events.

If you already are signed up for our emails, you should be getting these. If you are not here's the link to the sign-up form. The form also allows you to sign up for our Fringed Gentian™ announcements and for the Friends Invasive Plant Action Group's emails.

Sign-up Form